By eight or nine, most kids want Halloween to come with a real shiver. These episodes bring more suspense than the little-kid picks, plus a candy debate and two rounds of Halloween trivia for the car. Every one of them is still made with kids in mind.
Every show here is one we’ve reviewed and added to Once Upon a Pod. Tap an episode’s title to go straight to it and listen in your browser, or tap the show’s name to see the rest of the show.
Younger siblings in the house? Our Halloween episodes for little kids list is full of cozier picks. If your tween wants spooky stories past October, try our spooky podcasts for tweens.
Spooky stories
We’ve ordered these from gentlest to spookiest.
Trick or Treat or Trick
Finn and his crew head to a party planet to go trick-or-treating, and end up with far more tricks than treats. It’s a standalone bonus episode, so your child can jump in without knowing the rest of the series. Just know there’s a good chance they’ll want to go back to the beginning afterward.
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The Pumpkin King
A short, punchy Halloween story from a show where the stories are written by kids and recorded by one whole family: mom, dad and their two daughters. The homemade energy is part of the charm, and at ten minutes it’s a good test of how much spooky your child is up for.
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A Halloween Favor
What if monsters were real, and they came out on Halloween? That’s exactly what happens to Cassie, Eddie and Ben, three friends just out to have a good time. It comes from the author of Goosebumps, so kids who’ve read those books will feel right at home.
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Chapter One: The Night Before Halloween
Best friends Mina Murray and Lucy West spend their free time picnicking in the graveyard after dark, which tells you most of what you need to know about them. When a mysterious ship crashes on the shore of their town, strange things start happening: eerie fog, bat attacks, sleepwalking and a wolf on the loose. And all of it threatens to ruin their favorite holiday.
This is the first chapter of a serialized story with nods to the classic Dracula, which makes it a great series to start in October and keep going through the season.
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The Best Time of Year
Strange black letters start spreading through town, and Lily watches her friends act stranger and stranger after they read them. Micro Terrors calls itself “family-friendly frights,” and it means the frights part. Best for kids who already love a scary story.
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2022 Halloween Special
A standalone episode set in the 1500s, inside the cozy hut of the Baba Yaga sisters as they celebrate All Hallow’s Eve with a feast and some fortune telling. The sisters can’t actually see the future, but something comes through that night anyway: a warning. If your tween likes it, the full series is one of our spooky podcasts for tweens.
Play this episodeHalloween fun with zero scares
For a break from the spooky stuff: a candy debate, a true mystery from history and the story of how trick-or-treating began.
Halloween Candy Grab Bag
Smash Boom Best is a debate show where two hosts argue over which of two things is better, and listeners at home pick the winner. For Halloween they went all out, with six candies going head to head in a string of mini debates. Forever Ago host Joy Dolo takes on Brains On producer Aron Woldeslassie.
There are no scares here, just a lot of strong opinions about chocolate. Pause before each verdict and let everyone in the car vote first. Expect it to get heated.
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Twain’s Ouija Novel
Did Mark Twain write a novel from beyond the grave, using a Ouija board? People in the early 1900s claimed exactly that. This history show digs into the real story with help from the host of Unspookable, a podcast that investigates spooky legends. It’s perfect for the kid who loves a mystery but likes knowing what actually happened.
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Kapow’s Power of Invention: Trick or Treating
Kids have been going door to door in costumes for more than a century, but how did trick-or-treating start? Kapow, Lucy Wow’s sidekick and “world champion eater of socks,” explains it in ten quick minutes.
Play this episodeHalloween trivia for the car
Long drive to a costume party? These two turn the ride into a game.
Halloween Spooktacular!
A full Halloween quiz covering monsters, candy, kid-friendly Halloween movies and TV, and anything orange and black. At 46 minutes it lasts most of a drive, and the whole family can play along.
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Halloween Trivia Time
A shorter round for a quick trip. The show has made Halloween episodes for several Octobers running, so if your family finishes this one, there are more to find in its back catalog.
Play this episodeHappy Halloween from all of us at Once Upon a Pod. If your child has a favorite Halloween episode that isn’t here, we’d love to hear about it. You can suggest a show any time.
